Ahel tilted her head at Ray’s strange behaviour, confused at his actions.

“I see we’ve arrived,” he said in a low pitched voice, letting her know that they did not have to walk any further.

She was about to try to look over Ray’s broad shoulders which were blocking her way when she heard someone gulp loudly in front of him.

The sound of people swallowing in fear was one that she had grown accustomed to in the last few hours.

Ahel stepped to the side so that whoever had made the noise would be revealed to her, and so that she could see exactly what was unfolding.

A man, dressed in a black suit, stood in front of a massive door. He stood, his mouth hanging open at the sight of the couple. The man who appeared to be a servant was evidently shocked at what he saw in front of him.

Ahel now knew that this reaction was because of Ray’s presence. The man did not act any differently than any of the other servants who had seen Ray. But he, however, was in fact different from them. Quickly erasing the embarrassed look on his face, he rushed to their side.

“You’ve arrived, sir,” the neatly dressed servant said, walking closer to Ray.

“Open the door,” Ray ordered, his cold tone starkly contrasting with the friendly greeting of the servant.

The servant, as if used to this sort of treatment from others, politely bowed and approached the door.

The enormous door shaped like an oval was intricately intertwined with white and golden patterns just like the walls and floors. It swung open silently and smoothly, as the servant pulled the handle of the great door.

“Let’s go inside,” said Ray, watching the door open.

Ahel quickly took a few hurried steps to try to catch up with Ray who was already striding through the open door like he owned the place.

As for the servant, he just stood to the left of the door, his head bowed, while the two walked past him. The room seemed to be Ray’s sanctuary or something of the like.

As soon as she was completely inside, there was a thud from behind as the door closed, sealing them into the room.

The room that she found herself in was so splendid she couldn’t look away; a huge chandelier hanging from the ceiling; the magnificent pattern of the marble floor; six arched windows spaced apart on the side walls; and to the right side were two angle sofas and a table.

She wondered if this room was a living room where aristocrats would meet and greet their guests. I’m glad I slept on the sofa,’ Ahel thought to herself as soon as she saw the sofas.

Both were wide and large enough for even Ray to lie down with his feet stretched out.

While Ahel was busy studying the room from the entrance, he sat on one of the sofas, calling out to her where she stood at the door, “How long are you going to stand there? You should come over here and sit.”

Watching him as he tilted his head in the direction of the other sofa, Ahel stepped off in that direction.

Their gazes met as soon as she obediently plopped down onto the sofa. His green eyes absorbed the chandelier lights and shone softly.

Seeing that Ray was not going to speak first, Ahel decided to take the initiative, saying, “You said that you would tell me what you know when we got here, right? So please tell me what you know about the tattoo on my neck, your Majesty.”

“Oh-ho,” Ray said, his expression one of shock at hearing her call him ‘your Majesty’. His green eyes glittered with excitement. With a smile on his face, he said, “You seem to have noticed the hint I gave you.”

“You did outright give me a hint, would it not have been stranger if I hadn’t figured it out?” she mumbled to herself.

Her thoughts jumped in a different direction suddenly; ‘Is the tattoo on my neck worth something to him, the Emperor?’

She had no idea what the truth was, so she decided to rather hear it from Ray’s mouth.

Ahel was thinking through what exactly she was going to ask him, when he placed his head on his fist and looked directly at her.

“I did say that I’d tell you about the tattoo on your neck when we got here,” he said with a small smile.

Hearing his words, Ahel straightened her back and sat fully upright.

He smiled as Ahel readied herself for what he was about to say, “Before I tell you, there is one thing.”

She made a small questioning noise.

“I want to ask you something…” he said trailing off.

Ahel nodded at him, inviting him to continue.

“Why do you want to know about that tattoo?” he asked, his face growing tense.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed. A coldness flooded the room, and Ahel froze. That was the question she had anticipated. The question she had dreaded. The question that could lead him to become suspicious of her.

She tried not to show any visible reactions to the question, but her body betrayed her, stiffening in shock.

Ahel hurriedly took a breath, relaxed, and began to speak before Ray got the wrong idea, “I’ve already told you several times that I am an orphan. However, as a child, I didn’t know. I didn’t understand that I didn’t have parents. One night while I cried, sad that I was unable to find my parents, the person who raised me told me the truth. My parents abandoned me, and I was better off moving on not, never thinking about them again.”